EDITORIAL: The mortgage scandal roots

what a stupid argument. if the 'community reinvestment act' started in 1977, why did it take until 2007 to see all these foreclosures? banks have to enforce CRA rules and not brokers. but these past few years, brokers ended up with the most foreclosures. what does CRA have to do with all those stated income/stated asset, no doc, ARM, option ARMs, and other exotic loans brokers have been peddling for years, that cater to a lot of business owners/ self-employed customers who cheat on their taxes, therefore, did not want to show their tax returns to obtain a loan? and what about all those investors who were banking on the value of their properties going up, so they took interest only, adjustable rate loans....and then seeing values of their properties fall and now....their ARM is due and monthly payments went up....and can't refinance their loans because guidelines have gottern stricter and their loan to value is upside down. if mcmansions and homes in affluent neighborhoods were not going into foreclosure, too, then your argument regarding CRA might have suffice. wall street is not the only player that was greedy....

Bravo.IT'S THE ECONOMY. "For the first time in history, a serious Fannie and Freddie reform bill was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The bill gave a regulator power to crack down, and would have required the companies to eliminate their investments in risky assets. If that bill had become law, then the world today would be different...But the bill didn't become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn't even get the Senate to vote on the matter. That such a reckless political stand could have been taken by the Democrats was obscene even then." Obama wants America to put him and his party in charge OF EVERYTHING. WHY? THEY GOT US INTO THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. If you want to go from the frying pan into the fire, elect the Democrats. If you haven't read the facts, then here is one of your last opportunities to save this country: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0 http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&issue=20080924&artnum=1 http://www.kentuckypoliticalreview.com/?p=188 http://www.ibdeditorial.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=307149667289804 http://thekansascitian.blogspot.com/2008/09/democrats-responsible-for-financial.html http://www.e-thepeople.org/article/2972101/view?viewtype http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/09/20/ibd-carter-more-blame-financial-crisis-bush-or-mccain

The federal "highwayman" is at it again in the biggest ploy yet, sticking this $850 thousand Million dollar bail-out, that includes $150 Billion in Pork-Barrel spending give-aways (bribes) that the Senate included in this nefarious legislation. I guess the S & L Bailout was not good enough or the Bailout money has run out for those corrupt people, so they had to devise yet another money-maker that the taxpayers will be stuck with. This whole deal was caused by the greed of a few "elite" members of the Legislative Branch (For Senator Biden: that is the part of government that Article 1, US Constitution refers) AND President Clinton cronies. The crooked Congressmen/women and Senators that had any oversight responsibility need to be investigated and prosecuted and driven from Office. The only way to prevent further theft of taxpayer's money is to make examples of those found guilty. Who, among us, can have any confidence in our government, if the causes of these financial debacles are not found out and made prominent for all to see? Or, is the Privileged Ruling Class in Washington, DC, beyond the law? I want blood. I want everyone who was in the pocket of the GSE's (Repub & Dem) to be published, investigated for their roles in permitting the looting of these organizations and I want them financially broken. Finally, I want to see them convicted as felons, loosing pensions and unable to vote as citizens. While it is not a "square trade" for the $850,000,000, severe prosecutions of all criminal Legislators (Dems and Repubs) responsible for this financial debacle will show that an effort was made and these crooks will PLUNDER NO MORE. Patriot & American Nationalist

Getting this information out is not solely the job of politicians. Are you an American? You're helping by having written this article. But it's the American people who need to learn the truth and spread it. In this election, everyone must do their part and, dear Lord, stop complaining and get off your duff and DO SOMETHING. Do you have a computer? Well then, pass on the following web links. By the way, please translate this into Spanish and post it somewhere. Their press is totally liberal. There's no documentation in Spanish. There is no need to argue...it's all in living color...proving that Democrats intimidated lawmakers and stopped reform. This crisis has nothing to do with Bush and everything to do with Barney Frank and friends. Someone needs to put Spanish subtitles on this and drop it on YouTube. http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=184743 http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=182623 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6fuFrdCJY

Karlin: If your into conspiracies check out Cloward-Piven's theory. Put into practice in NY in the '70's and perhaps now!

Put sound factual information right in front of liberals that are enfatuated, mysticized with Obama and they just don't accept it. Democrat contrived social engineering has brought results that we are seeing today. Weak republicans fearful of offending anybody, especially democrats didn't make enough effort to stand up against democrats like C. Dodd and B. Frank in this get your house now at taxpayer expense. Now, during this election period as Obama(ites) forge ahead taking every advantage they can even if it is unethical and unlawful, they are capturing votes. Real action to get votes by democrat operatives matched by a mystical attration to Obama make his election probable despite all of the numerous warnings popping up throughout society. Thanks to constant unfounded pulverizing the president over the past years hate for our president seems to have lead to love for the controversial Obama. So, when Obama is president and truly bad things happen to our country, will the press's love for Obama and constant praise of Obama sustain a love for Obama as much as the incessant criticism of Bush has sustained hate for him today? Why are republicans so fearful to organize and use the rich cache of negative information about Obama and democrats scattered about the media to stike clearly and deftly against democrats? Will Palin do it alone? Democrats never hesitate to level such blows agains republicans, even falsely. I want to see Congressmen removed because they didn't do their jobs and they failed us. Such nagativity needs exposure that will lead to actiion to remove them. Wall Street CEO's will fall in line knowing that if Congressmen are held accountable, they too will be. To the contrary, if nothing ever happens to Congressmen who don't implement their oversight according to the laws they make, how can a Wall Street CEO ever be expected to follow the rules!

Democrats will bring down America.

ACORN as far as I am concerned is organized crime and should be dealt with the same as the Mafia.

If somebody doesn't clean "House" who will? WE MUST DO IT. Perhaps a "THROW THE BUMS OUT!" March On Washington. What we need in the White House is a FISCAL HAWK. Would that be Obama? What a joke. I want TRIBUNALS. I want to see some perp walks. I want to see Barney Frank getting the bum's rush out of Washington into the Delaware River. WE NEED TO SET AN EXAMPLE, FOLKS!

truthspeaker1---Hey, "truthspeaker", why don't you read the article? Why don't you read the articles I posted below, especially the one from Bloomberg? You need to be "truth-SEEKER" before "truth- SPEAKER",pal. Instead of circling the wagons on your precious politicians, get the facts. You ever hear of something we in the free market world call INCENTIVE??? You Democrats have no idea about Incentive, do you? No friggin idea. When you create an INCENTIVE to take risks, you encourage that behaviour. Get it now? Duh. The CRA created an INCENTIVE to take risks, along with Fannie and Freddie, so what happens? When you don't have to Pay The Piper you get all Reward with no Risk, the GOVERNMENT (i.e. the Taxpayers) are on the hook. Of course Wall Street follows along---The Government is telling you to. The CRA was just another SCAM by Democrats to take the risk off their (and their constituents') backs and put it on the taxpayer, knowing that down the road they could just TAX, TAX, TAX their way out of it. THAT'S THE DEMOCRAT WAY. Get it now? INCENTIVE TO DO RISKY THINGS, INCENTIVE TO FAIL, INCENTIVE TO DEFAULT, INCENTIVE TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY. Democrats do not get this word: INCENTIVE. Where is the incentive to save, to build Capital, to be Conservative with Money??????

One man has suggested putting the facts in from of the liberals, this will only confuse them until they decide the facts are lies. Unless a liberal does the reporting they will refuse to believe any facts.

Mik: Read the WHOLE article. Democrats increased the requirements of CRA compliance in the mid-90s. The chickens cam home to roost on these socialist policies, just like every fiscal conservative said they would. Greenspan is pretty smart, but congress ignored him. ACORN and "community organizers" (code for socialist agitators) like Obama, enabled by lefist Democrats like Biden and short-sighted Bush border policies, ROBBED this nation of close to a trillion dollars. Never again. Country First! McCain/Palin!

Truthspeaker1 seems to have trouble living up to his moniker. The President has no fungible powers, CONGRESS approves or denies EVERY US govt. expenditure. And If you'll look closely TS, tough for you I know, you'll notice that was a Democrat controlled congress that jacked our national debt up, every time. Find a new propaganda scam.

Let's go back to Econ 101. Early this last summer, late spring, whatever, the major Global Banks suddenly and "independently"(?) decided to deleverage their Balance Sheets. Fact. What happens when you dump huge amounts of commodities of any kind onto a market without the demand to pick them up? Ah, yes, the prices plummet like a stone, as did the values of the fancy mortgage debt instruments. The first question is why any self-respecting Treasurer would allow their bank to dump securities onto the market in volume, knowing that the value will drop precipitously, thereby damaging the most important asset of a bank:its Balance sheet. Second question: why did this happen in the months preceding an American National election? There was no, repeat, no defining action that said the securities returning on average 25-30% to these institutions were in any more of a problem than they were last year or would be next year. Remember, they were bought and priced in expectation of a 20-25% fall off in repayments - or loan defaults, if you will. And, curiously enough, is about the performance they are, or were, having. So, let us be a bit more reductionist and look for the cause, not the media hysteria that accompanied the action by these global banks. And, curiously, the media hysteria was concurrent with the actions - not a subject to which the US media usually attends. Curious, eh?

Excellent question, nyuszika45. Answer: To deplete the accumulation of tax revenues from the Bush tax cut? No? Then, please spell it out. I have a "need to know."